ArchiveAugust 2015

With hot condo markets and zany-low interest rates, a lot of Canadians, for better or for worse, have tied their financial futures to the real estate market. Like, for instance, Toronto’s municipal government. Last week, the city released its operating budget variance report for the first six months of 2015. Like past years, it’s projecting a surplus for the year — of about $65 million. But also...

The City of Toronto is rolling out a pilot project with new, more clear development notice signs. Earlier this summer, my east-side Toronto neighbourhood was worked into a tizzy over the closure of our local park, the very nice Corktown Common, for the duration of the Pan Am Games. Some people argued that public closure of the park was always part of the plan for the Games. Others argued that...

Toronto Mayor John Tory looks over the council chamber during council meeting at Toronto City Hall on Wednesday, June 10, 2015. In what was very exciting news for fans of municipal geography, the Toronto Ward Boundary Review group released its second major report last week. Based on extensive consultation and study, the report presents five options for redrawing Toronto’s ward boundaries. This is...

Mayor John Tory. In the early days of a federal campaign that will feel really long unless you happened to cover last year’s mayoral election in Toronto, John Tory laid out his strategy for the politics-heavy months ahead. His priorities, the mayor said, are securing money for transit and affordable housing. Fine priorities, no doubt, but Tory also made it clear he wouldn’t be wading too far into...

By: Metro Published on Tue Aug 04 2015 Here we go. Coming sooner than we expected and set to last longer than we’d probably like, Canada’s 42nd federal election officially kicked off on Sunday. For Toronto, as much as we’ll get tired of the attack ads and lawn signs, let’s see this as an opportunity. Because with a bunch of seats up for grabs, our city is firmly in play. This is a new thing...